MerryFlyer, maybe I missed something but I did not think that my intra-Europe flights on KLM or British Airways entitled me to use of their lounges with free food or drinks. Again my preference would be that the cost of lounges not be built into the ticket, so that people like me who have lounge access to Diners Club lounges could get lower price tickets. Maybe ticket prices have come down these days or maybe I did not have access to discount tickets when I got my tickets - my impression at that time was that for comparable distances prices were cheaper in the US.